(From a visit made to Hoinkhausen on September 12 and 13) When German relatives know you’re coming, the red carpet not only gets rolled out, it gets wrapped around you. Suzanne Pellegrino and her sister Beth Renney not only gave their relatives in tiny Hoinkhausen, Germany advance notice, they gave them nearly a year to […]
Category Archives: Family History Tours
Discover your Family History and research your genealogy with an ancestral home tour.
St. Pankratius in Hoinkhausen, Germany
September 15, 2012 The Catholic Church of Saint Pankratius is the ancestral church of Suzanne Pellegrino and Elizabeth Renney’s Mollerus ancestors, who settled in this village in the last years of the 18th century. The church was built as early as the 12th century. A stone triptych on the north entrance of the church dates […]
The Odenwald’s Silent Sentinal
September 10, 2012 Like a stone sentinal guarding the rolling hills of the Odenwald Forest, Auerbach Castle high above Bensheim-Auerbach has stood tall for more than 800 years. We visited this ruin on a warm September day while exploring ancestral Bensheim and Mannheim nearby. Auerbach Castle was built by Charlamagne and then rebuilt and enlarged […]
Mannheim, Germany
September 9, 2012 What do the world’s first automobile, the first bicycle and the first tractor have in common? Mannheim! All three were invented in this industrial town on the banks of the rivers Rhein and Neckar in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Known as “Grid City” the bustling large town was built on the […]
Jewish History in Pittigliano, Tuscany
May 10 There was once a flourishing Jewish community in this fortified Tuscan village. Kicked out of the Papal States (those areas immediately surrounding Rome) by Popes in the 16th century, a large settlement developed in Pittigliano where they were given protection by the local ruling family. In ‘Little Jerusalem’ there can be seen many […]
How to Have a Successful Family History Trip to Europe
European Focus Private Tours provides the expertise, experience and guidance on the “Ultimate Experience,” visiting your ancestral villages or towns in Europe. Many family historians just don’t know where to start, and are not yet ready for that ultimate experience. Here are some tips from on how to get started on your quest. Begin with […]
The time to explore family history
Two-time traveler Jim Cooke of Virginia photographs a traditional Irish pub/store/hardware store in the town of Kingscourt, County Cavan, Ireland on October 11. Jim and his wife Betsy are combining a business trip with a pleasure excursion to see some of the areas where Jim’s ancestors lived before emigrating to New Orleans in 1850.
Sommerhausen, Germany and Francis Daniel Pastorius
The charming hamlet of Sommerhausen, Germany has a wall, towers, a castle and many very old houses nestled between steep slopes covered with vineyards and the Main River. The town is also home to the man who established Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1683, a group of Mennonites, Pietists, and Quakers – like Abraham Isacks op den […]